KSE Brokers demand immediate release of AKD’s officials

KARACHI: A big uproar among the stock market brokers at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) was witnessed on Tuesday over high handedness of the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and frequent harassment by the regulators.

The stockbrokers have threatened to go on strike if the arrested officials AKD Securities were not released immediately.

The stockbrokers association has widely condemned the FIA staff for filing a fake FIR against respectable officials of the country’s top stock market brokerage house, AKD Securities’, on the instructions of its Director Shahid Hayat.

While challenging the term of reference of FIA, the association spokesman said that FIA has no powers to take action against stock brokerage houses, as it is the prerogative of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The association said that the FIA’s raid on a brokerage house is an act of barbarianism and would bring the bad repute to the country. The brokerage houses have demanded the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to order immediate release of AKD’s officials otherwise they would resort to go on strike.

Brokers have also questioned the role of SECP, as it was also accused of going hands in gloves with the manipulators.

Meanwhile, the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) has also condemned the FIA act on the reputed stock brokerage house, terming it unlawful and would result in bringing disrepute to the country besides losing investments of billions of rupees. They warned that if the government would not tackle the issue wisely and the culprits not brought to the task, the government would completely lose its credibility, resulting in the economic disaster.